The Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control (SoCal TRACON or SCT) (radio callsign: SoCal Approach/Departure) is located in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. SCT is a part of the

Air Traffic Organization The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is an air navigation service provider in the United States of America. The ATO is the operational division of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ATO provides air navigation services to private and comm ...

of the

US Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

. SCT sequences and separates air traffic in the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

region. It is the busiest

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

facility in the world. SCT serves the following major Southern California airports (in order of volume, Class B & C), in addition to many surrounding satellite airports. * Los Angeles International Airport - LAX -

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

* John Wayne Airport - SNA -

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

Long Beach Airport Long Beach Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of downtown Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an operating base ...

- LGB -

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

San Diego International Airport San Diego International Airport , formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport northwest of Downtown San Diego, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.. US Feder ...

- SAN -

* Marine Corps Air Station Miramar - NKX - San Diego *

Hollywood Burbank Airport Hollywood Burbank Airport, legally and formerly marketed as Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope , is a public airport northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. ef ...

- BUR - Burbank *

Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport is an international airport two miles east of downtown Ontario, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino. It is owned and operat ...

- ONT -

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

SCT is broken down into six areas and a Traffic Management Unit: * Burbank Area: Responsible for BUR, VNY, & WHP * Del Rey Area: Responsible for LAX, TOA & HHR departures * Los Angeles Area: Responsible for LAX & HHR arrivals * Coast Area: Responsible for SNA, LGB, FUL, TOA & SLI * San Diego Area: Responsible for SAN, NKX, NZY, NFG, MYF, SEE, SDM, RNM & CRQ * Empire Area: Responsible for ONT, AJO, PSP, RIV, SBD, RAL, CNO, EMT, & POC Each area has five or six individual sectors that are worked by controllers. SoCal TRACON is responsible for the handling of aircraft departing and arriving these airports, generally below . SCT is responsible for sequencing inbound, separating from crossing and VFR traffic, and departing traffic. Separation is achieved by vectoring traffic and assigning altitudes.

References

Air traffic control in the United States Aviation in California Transportation in San Diego County, California Transportation in Los Angeles County, California {{California-stub

See also

References